Ecosystem
by Scruff the Rat
Summary: A dragon that belongs to none of the five clans appears in Gnorc Gnexus. Rated for violence and dark themes. Cross-posted to Archive Of Our Own.
1. Prologue

**Note: Hello everyone! This is your friendly-universe rodent and I would like to welcome all of you to something that's been cooking in my brain for a while.**

**Though I love the original Spyro trilogy and its Reignited remake, lore has always been one of my greatest weaknesses, so I just _had _to go digging around for some – and lo behold I stumbled across a Reddit post about the Machinists, a dragon group originally intended for the original Spyro games but cut out due to time constraints.**

**Then one idea led to another and well here we are. Enjoy!**

* * *

_In an age beyond time, the world knew only chaos - for the world knew the elements that comprised it as powerful and masterless, all life left at the mercy of nature._

_But all changed when the Great Mother Serpent, wounded and ailing, descended from the Skylands to seek sanctuary for the unborn eggs upon her back. From these very eggs sprung forth the world's first dragons, creatures of untold elemental prowess. _

_Seeing the state of the planet, she used what remained of her strength and magic to teach her children how to tame the elements so they could ensure all living things existed in harmony. _

_However, she did not take long to realize the different talents among the dragons and so chose six among them, one for each element save for darkness, to establish their own guilds and preserve an aspect of draconic culture in her stead._

_Ignitus, master of the arts and founder of the Artisans._

_Atma, oneiric sage and founder of the Dream Weavers._

_Volteer, scientific genius and founder of the -_

_Terrador, general of unrivaled courage and founder of the Peace Keepers._

_Cyril, mage of untold prowess and founder of the Magic Crafters._

_Agwé, shamaness of deepest wisdom and founder of the Beast Makers._

_Together, these six clans formed the Dragon Realms and the Great Serpent perished upon what would become Dragon Shores._

_As centuries passed, the presence of the guilds brought exactly what their Mother had desired - until one dragon, arrogant and cruel, chose tyranny over peace in belief that dragonkind deserved to rule rather than protect and left only destruction in his wake. With words of silk and desires of sin, he swayed many dragons to accept his poisonous thoughts._

_To remedy this nightmare, the Founders banded together and combined their powers to banish The Fallen One and his followers beyond the heavens, restoring balance and peace to the world._

_However, some legends speak of a seventh dragon chosen in secret long ago by the Great Mother Serpent, a hero of shadow to unite the Founders' clans should The Fallen One ever rise again. Few believed such tales for they deemed the leaders enough, the Seventh Dragon nonsense, and the guilds' bonds unshakable._

_History suggests otherwise._


	2. News of the Lost

Gnorc Gnexus.

Polluted, bleak, unwelcoming, downright foul.

Didn't help that this place had already been long abandoned by the dragons ages before Gnasty and his followers made it their home either, a fact that only added to the foreboding atmosphere. Unless you were a Gnorc yourself or had a seriously valid reason, no one in their right mind would _dare_ linger around in this literal trash heap of a realm, let alone visit it.

Turns out someone today had a seriously valid reason.

"We're lucky they gave us the okay to come here," a composed and somewhat deep female voice with a British-like accent commented, "even if only for a short time. This isn't dragon territory anymore after all."

"When was it eva'?" lazily asked a higher-pitched female voice tinged with a faint Brooklyn-esque accent. "Not even _you guys _used this place much back then, right?"

A beat of silence passed save for the shifting waves until a deeper and gentler voice spoke up, this one male. "That's what we get for not taking care of this place…but at least the worlds here won't go to waste."

Even if the Gnorcs' lifestyle left much to be desired.

The male continued, solemn and apologetic yet with a wistful undercurrent. "I just wanted to see this place for myself. At least once."

He took in the rusting metal of looming dragon heads and creaking wood of old docks and felt the millennia of neglect engraved here. At last, he turned to his companions with a smile of gratitude. "Thanks for coming with me, you guys. I know being here's a big risk, but I appreciate you braving it for my sake."

British Voice returned the smile in full. "Of course, we would, Nico. We understand the significance this place holds for your people. We just didn't want anything happening to you."

Brooklyn Gal snickered. "You ain't exactly a stud muffin, after all."

Nico mumbled to himself in embarrassment at the jab. He could be tough when he wanted to be!

"Which he compensates for with his tools and intellect," British Voice gently admonished as she patted Nico's shoulder, "or may I recount to you, the innumerable times they've helped us – i.e. you – out of a bind?"

Touché. Brooklyn Gal mumbled in embarrassment with crossed arms and a pout.

"Anyway," British Voice firmly continued, "we'd better get going. It's clear by now he isn't coming."

Before the other two dragons could voice agreement, a shadow passed over them...

**XXX**

_A few hours later…_

"There's no way that's what happened, Spyro."

"Oh yeah? How would _you _know?" a young purple dragon returned in a smarmy tone as he and his friend Elora walked down one of the cobbled pathways that snaked through the emerald-grass fields of the Artisan Homeworld. A tiny gold-glowing dragonfly named Sparx flittered in between them.

The red-furred faun rolled her eyes. "Because I was an eyewitness to most of it? Also, I don't think the monks appreciated that stunt your friends pulled."

Spyro blanched in record time. "Oh…heh. I guess you noticed that, huh?"

"With how little I could hear the Professor over the bloodcurdling screams echoing all over the mountains?" Elora arched a brow in dry amusement. "Yeah, kinda hard not to."

Sparx shot the drake a look full of 'I told ya so'.

Spyro rubbed one foreleg up against the other sheepishly as flashbacks of Bubba and Trondo's 'escapades' on the hockey rink in Colossus made him click his tongue in hesitation. "Yeah, Delbin and I told them to take it calm and easy with the hockey." He looked to the faun with an awkward grin. "They're not so good at calm and easy."

_To say the least, _Elora thought as she and Sparx shared a wince in empathy. Admirable as Spyro's attempts to keep the two macho dragons leashed had been, she felt the results were inevitable based on what little she heard about them. If anything, the incident just proved why the monks there shouldn't associate hockey with peace.

"I just hope you guys didn't get in too much trouble."

"Nah," Spyro gave an easy shrug, "Me and Delbin got off easy after I talked everyone down. Plus, Bubba and Trondo are banned from Colossus until 'further notice', which I'm pretty sure translates to 'until the end of time'" – Sparx bobbed his body up and down in a nod of agreement – "so it's safe to say we won't have to worry about an encore performance. 'Sides, I'm more worried on how _Nestor's _gonna take this."

Hence why Delbin offered to go on ahead and tell the Artisan leader himself. Soften him up, so to speak.

Just then, something out of Elora's peripherals caused her to stop. "Something tells me he's not so worried about that anymore."

The faun pointed a finger to two elder dragons up ahead – Nestor and Delbin – locked in what seemed to be an intense conversation with a much shorter figure decked in aviator gear. Upon closer inspection, Spyro recognized the figure as the balloonist from Gnasty's World and who, judging by his wild hand gestures, seemed awfully worked up about something.

Curiosity gave way to concern when Delbin turned his head to reveal a worried frown.

Spyro shared a look with Elora and Sparx before nearing the adults with his trademark smile. "Hey guys! Everything cool here?"

Delbin turned at the voice and returned the grin (albeit halfheartedly). "Ah, Spyro! Everything is fine, it's just," the autumn painter hesitated for a moment until a confirming nod from Nestor settled his decision, "there's…someone exploring Gnorc Gnexus. Another dragon."

Hearing such news about the abandoned junkyard made the young dragon's head reel back in surprise. "Like on purpose?! Why?"

Nestor faced Spyro with an expression full of resignation - and perhaps a bit of hope? "We're not entirely sure ourselves. However, that's not our main concern for now." He gestured a hand to the balloonist. "Hak says he saw this one carrying around technology."

Spyro shared another look with his two companions, this one confused. He slowly asked, "And that's weird how?"

Sure, almost all the Dragon Realms leaned far towards more traditional items (medieval weapons and wands to name a few), but the Beast Makers had their electrical devices here and there. A dragon with something similar shouldn't be that off.

Hak fervently shook his head as though reading the young one's thoughts. "It wasn't just some little trinket like you'd see in Beast Makers, Spyro! This kid had screens of light popping up all around him," he held his hands up and wiggled his fingers in an excited fashion, "and with a wave of his fingers, too!"

Spyro and Elora balked at the descriptions!

"Screens of light?" the small drake gawked in wonder. "Like holograms?" He'd heard of and even been to worlds with stuff like that, but never in the Dragon Realms themselves. What kind of dragon did this guy see? Better yet, that raised another question. "Hang on, what were _you _even doing at Gnexus?"

Dragons weren't the only ones who avoided that place, after all. Sure enough, Hak stammered for a moment, taken by surprise. "T-Trust me, Spyro, if not for that old mole guy that kept badgering me to take 'im there, I wouldn't've gone within a mile of that place. Paid me pretty darn well, too."

_Old mole guy? _Spyro mused in suspicion, _that can't be who I think it is…right?_

Thinking along similar lines, Elora abruptly raised her hands. "Back up! Did this person you took to Gnorc Gnexus wear glasses and a white lab coat by any chance?"

"Yeah!" Hak chirped with a snap of his gloved fingers, "A friend of yours?"

Both Spyro and Sparx's jaws dropped in disbelief while Elora gasped with a hand to her mouth! The _Professor_ had a part in this mystery too?! What the heck was going on here?

Nestor took the reins of the conversation. "You referred to this dragon as a 'kid'. Were they around Spyro's age?"

Hak registered the question and rubbed his nape thoughtfully. "I'd say he looked like a definite adult – older than Spyro for sure but nowhere near as old as you and Delbin here."

"He wasn't alone, right?" Delbin asked in a concerned tone edging towards outrage because the painter swore that if this Balloonist left that kid to fend for himself in such a place—

Hak held his hands up in frightful haste. "Whoa, easy! Harm's the last thing that'll come to 'im with those two lady dragons around, especially the pretty orange one that kept givin' me the stink eye. Probably shoulda' mentioned that first…"

Elora's eyes went wide. "Lady dragons? Your species _does _have females out there then!" she exclaimed in an 'aha' tone before she turned to Spyro, hands akimbo. "How come I haven't seen any around?"

Spyro pursed his lips with an awkward 'um'. "I think it had something to do with the Sorceress sending us away long ago," he looked to the red and green elders for confirmation, "right?"

Nestor nodded. "When she spirited us from the Forgotten Worlds years ago, she'd only done so to any dragons identifying as male at that time while the rest wound up stranded onto _her _side of the world." He shook his head ruefully. "They went missing for so long, we'd assumed the Sorceress got to them."

Elora cocked her head, curious. What did he mean by 'identifying' and 'at that time'?

"Until we got word a few weeks before Gnasty Gnorc made lawn sculptures out of us!" Delbin added in an excited tone. "A few of 'em even settled back in after Spyro got back from torchin' that troublemaking Ripto."

_Hmm, makes enough sense_, Elora mused as she put a hand to her chin.

The faun couldn't confirm Delbin's words in full since she hadn't been to the other Dragon Homeworlds yet. Cleaning up Avalar after Ripto's defeat had been no small task and so left her no opportunity to visit Spyro until the near end of the purple dragon's third adventure. Didn't help either that Hunter snuck off to help with the Year of the Dragon festival once the Professor fixed the portal to Dragon Shores.

Elora turned to Hak. "So, what kind of dragons did these women look like?"

"Definitely Artisan, one of 'em," the balloonist responded with a shrug, "The other looked Peacekeeper, not to mention ready to bomb my balloon outta boredom!" The man shivered at the memory.

Spyro held back a snicker at the latter description. This lady sure sounded like a bomb-wielding Peace Keeper he'd met himself. Relation perhaps?

Nestor kept a straight face in contrast. "As for the young man with them, what faction would you say _he _seemed to belong to?"

For a long moment Hak went silent as he crossed his arms and cast his face downward with closed eyes. At last he spoke. "Unless he's some real tech-savvy Artisan, I can only assume the kid's one of those Ecologists from long ago, but I'd thought they all gone extinct at some point."

Spyro furrowed his brow. Ecologists: had he heard that term before? And if so where?

Nestor bit back a scoff. "No. They still very much thrive. I should know since Stone Hill has one leading it as we speak. In a sense," that last part he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. Ignoring Hak's squawk of surprise and the hushed conversation between Spyro and his friends, he turned towards the portal in question and walked towards it.

"In fact, I'm quite certain he'd very much like to hear this."

**XXX**

"Yeah, not hearing it."

Of course not. Nestor held back a sigh as he stood within Lindar's clock shop, the clock-clad maya-blue dragon standing with his back to him, hands tinkering within the face of a grandfather clock.

Steadying his patience, the green carpenter softened his tone. "Lindar – "

"—gives no cares whatsoever," the horologist finished in a flippant, disinterested tone as he continued his work.

"Aren't you the _least _bit curious about them?"

"Nope."

"Not even enough to meet some of them, get to know any of them?"

"Nope."

This time Nestor sighed at last. He figured the Stone Hill leader would prove this stubborn. The green dragon set his jaw, thinking of another angle. "It'd be a perfect opportunity to – "

"See all the wonderful and breathtaking inventions they've cooked up in their big nerdy heads and revel in their supreme braininess," Lindar sassed back. Not quite how Nestor would have phrased it but okay. "Yeah, hard pass."

A puff of frustrated smoke left the Artisan leader's nose as he ran a hand up his face, patience greatly tested. "Please. Not even once? They _are_ a part of your—"

Lindar's hand pushed down on the screwdriver it held so hard, the squeak of protest shocked Nestor more than the clockmaker's dangerously quiet tone did.

"No. They're. Not."

Oh dear. Nestor backed up and held his hands up in a placating manner, a gesture that seemed to be happening a lot today. He knew better than to push the clockmaker too far on this matter. Still, the Ecologists would no doubt visit this homeworld at some point; it wouldn't do to antagonize them.

"Will you at least mind your tongue around them in the event any arrive here?" the carpenter asked in exasperation.

Lindar paused this time, hands still. "...No promises."

_Good enough_, Nestor decided with an eyeroll as he finally departed from the clockshop. In truth, he felt some relief that the conversation ended on less of a sour note than expected. Other Artisans harbored similar sentiments about the far-removed clan and Nestor intended to notify them as well, but Lindar had a bad habit of letting his sharp tongue run ahead of his brain. It wouldn't do for everyone to start off on the wrong foot so quickly.

Speaking of foot…

The moment Nestor closed the door behind himself, the sound of loose stones being rustled drew his attention to a nearby well. He arched a brow and schooled a deadpan gaze. "You can all come out now."

At first nothing happened. Then some murmurs. At last a guilt faced Spyro, Sparx, and Elora edged out into view and gave the unimpressed elder nervous smiles.

"H-Hey Nestor!" Spyro greeted in an awkward tone, "Sooooo them Ecologists, huh?"

Nestor merely rolled his eyes as he faced the pair with crossed arms. He suspected Spyro would have done something like this (heck the Artisan leader would have almost been concerned if he hadn't), and Sparx by association, but the fact that the more responsible faun joined in took him for a loop.

Indeed, Elora set her hands behind herself in meekness and quickly bowed her head. "We're very sorry, Mr. Nestor, sir. We just didn't want to be kept in the dark about all this."

_Fair enough_, the dragon leader supposed, _someone might as well tell them_. He jerked his head towards the portal. "Come along then, you three. I'll catch you up to speed."

Despite being caught, Elora couldn't help but smile in intrigue as she and her friends followed Nestor back to the Artisan Homeworld.

Things just got interesting.


	3. Left in the Dark

**Note: Sorry for the long wait. Personal life and all that. Plus, I've been working on my designs for all the dragon OCs in this story (Dream Weavers are done by the way and are posted on my DeviantArt, FurAffinity and Weasyl - links are on my profile), so bear with me.**

* * *

Plenty of words fit Spyro.

Where to start? Brave for sure. Reckless. Kind. Sassy definitely. Selfless. Mischievous. One could go on and on.

'Curious' applied here, though, because who could blame him? Not every day you got to find out about a long-lost dragon clan not being so lost anymore.

He and Elora were sitting with Nestor in a circle beneath a tree atop one of the grassy hills overlooking Sunny Flight's island and ocean, the distant sound of trains thrumming in the background. Sparx rested easy from his perch on Spyro's head, attentive and listening.

Nestor, seeing he had the young ones' focus, cleared his throat. "The Ecologists stand out amongst the other dragon clans in that they dabble in something the rest of us do not: technology. While we channel _our_ energy towards more traditional pursuits such as art and sorcery, they focus on progress by seeking not just knowledge but its proper application to benefit the world at large."

Progress and knowledge? Elora pursed her lips as these two words tumbled in her mind. "So, they're scientists just like the Professor."

Spyro nodded in agreement, way more than fascinated. Dragon scientists: now _there's_ a concept he wanted to sink his teeth into.

"In a general sense, yes," Nestor continued, "but much more than that. Their founder, Volteer," the green dragon gestured a hand to everything around them, "believed that all life connects. Our clans, the elements: no one truly stands alone. The Ecologists' way of life revolves around proving that very truth."

At Elora's puzzled face, Spyro chipped in. "Volteer's one of the guys that started the dragon guilds." While Sparx bobbed his head in confirmation, the small drake turned to his elder for the same. "Ours was Ignitus, right?"

_Not bad, _Nestor mused with a broad smile. "Good to see you haven't _completely_ shirked your history lessons." He spared a moment to relish in Spyro's indignant blush. "Correct, and it is thanks to the Ecologists that Volteer's philosophy survives to this day," his smile waned at this point, "albeit tenuously."

Oh boy. An uneasy look passed between Spyro and his friends. Here came the heart-wrenching part.

Elora's face softened. "Why 'tenuously'? What happened?"

A deep rueful sigh escaped Nestor. "Recall that a number of our own had been stranded in the Forgotten Worlds and we thought them to be lost. Turns out the Ecologists are the reason behind their survival." He turned to his son-figure. "Remember when Delbin stated how a few of the female dragons settled in after your second adventure, Spyro?"

At first the younger dragon scrunched his face in confusion. Yeah, he recalled but what did that have to do with - then the pieces suddenly locked into place and Spyro, wide-eyed in shock, gave Nestor an almost-hurt stare. "Hang on. Are you saying you guys _knew_ they'd be coming out of hiding?"

"Ever since the female Artisans told us, yes." Nestor had the decency to look apologetic and bow his head. "My apologies Spyro. It's not that we believed you had no right to know. It's rather that the five clans' history with the Ecologists is…strenuous at best, and we feared you being ashamed of us. Not that it stopped you from asking about this before."

Spyro's face twisted at the latter admission. "When did I…," a certain memory returned and his eyes flashed in clarity, "oh."

Nestor gently pat the smaller drake's shoulder. "Not a surprise you only remember now. You _were_ quite young at the time."

**XXX**

_"Spyro."_

_The tiny purple troublemaker went stone rigid at the familiar voice and the even more familiar tone of disappointment, the golden dragonfly hovering close by starting as well. With dread the pair slowly shifted around to face a stern-faced Nestor, the emerald dragon's hands akimbo to emphasize his paternal disapproval._

_"So not only are you up past your curfew; you're also sneaking in late night snacks."_

_Crud. Spyro eyed the half-finished peanut butter cookie in his hand and grinned sheepishly. Maybe sparing a moment to sneak into the kitchen hadn't been so smart after all. "I just wanted to look up something Argus told me about, and I didn't wanna wait 'til tomorrow!"_

_Huh, that was a new excuse. Nestor blinked in wonderment before he at last noticed the open book on the table behind Spyro. A miracle the young one managed to get it there despite his diminutive size. The green elder drew closer for a better look and smirked in amusement. "Hmm. How oddly studious of you, Spyro."_

_Indeed, Argus' history lessons stood far from the top of Spyro's favorites list on account of their dryness and the younger dragon's abysmally short attention span. To be fair, though, the rotund scholar at least lacked Astor's habit of droning on and on. Mother Serpent knew Spyro (or anyone for that matter) could never weather that._

_"Regardless, I rather you _did _wait until tomorrow." Nestor crossed his arms. "You know sleep takes priority."_

_Ugh lame! Spyro deflected his eyes and shuffled his feet with a pout. "I just wanted to find out about the lightning dragons."_

_Lightning dragons? Nestor examined the book even further and fell headfirst into surprise. "Spyro…," he inquired in a soft wondering tone, "is this what Argus showed you?"_

_The tiny reptile made eye contact and shrugged as he turned back towards the book. "All I did was flip through while he talked and find this. The picture looked super cool, so I showed it to him!" He pointed out a stylized pinwheel that took up both pages, composed of six serpentine dragons reaching towards a purple dot in the center, each a color in clockwise order: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue. "But then he said something really weird."_

_"And it was…?" Nestor trailed off in an anticipating voice as he pulled out and took a seat in the chair next to Spyro._

_"That each dragon here stands for a clan." Spyro pointed his finger to each hue as he pointed them out one by one. "Red's for us, orange is the dream guys, green's for Mr. Titan and his cool friends, light blue's the magic dudes, and plain blue is for those guys in the swamps…so who's yellow?"_

_For a moment, the older reptile seemed as though he might gloss over the question. Instead, he heaved a breath full of resignation and understanding. "That would be the Ecologists."_

_Even though Spyro could not fathom the full depth of the emotions crossing Nestor's face, he could tell even at such a young age that something about this mysterious clan upset the elder dragon. Greatly._

_"Nestor. Were the Ecola…Ecalo…"_

_Despite the situation, Nestor smiled at the youth's attempt at proper enunciation. "Ecologist."_

_Spyro settled for a nod. "Were they bad people?"_

_Nestor spared a moment to ponder over his next words. At last he leaned back in his chair. "Have you ever heard the expression 'there's a bad apple in every bunch?'"_

_The annoyed eyeroll from Spyro said everything. "How can I not? Oswin says it aaaallll the time."_

_A strange expression crossed Nestor's face. Not one of surprise, more like…expectant but kind of nervous too? Spyro couldn't tell for sure. But hey at least Nestor took mercy on him by using an adage the younger drake could understand._

_"So, you're saying a bad Ecologist ruined everything for the good Ecologists, right?"_

_"To put it lightly. The sad part is that whole group took the blame for that single dragon's actions."_

_Wh-What?! Spyro reared his head back, gobsmacked for a moment, before crying out in outrage, "That's not fair!" _

_Oh fudge. His mouth clamped shut at once upon realizing he just yelled at Nestor! Okay he hadn't yelled out of anger at the older green dragon himself but still, the last time he'd done that resulted in a straight trip to the paddle._

_On the contrary, Nestor did not take offense. Rather the man gave an understanding chuckle. "You're right, Spyro. That's not fair at all, especially since the rest of us dragons were just as guilty."_

_'Rest of us'? Spyro cocked his head and knitted his brows, not sure if he'd like the incoming answer._

_"The one responsible went by the name of Malefor. Once a kind and powerful leader to the Ecologists, he inspired not just dragons but people all over the Realms with his genius and good deeds. For that reason, all the guilds praised him to no end. However, people fell in love with him so much few noticed how far he was going to satisfy his curiosity."_

_At this point, Nestor stood up and approached some nearby shelves to peruse their books with a finger, no specific book in mind but rather to keep his hands active. He never enjoyed being still for long, much like Spyro. _

_"No one knows the real reason he went down the path he did, but none could deny he went off the deep end: going too far with his experiments, dabbling in forbidden magic, stealing innocent people from their homes to use them as test subjects. He kept all these misdeeds secret from even his own people—and once his actions finally came to light and the leaders banished him…"_

_Nestor shook his head with a sigh of disgust. "People tend to place blame on others when things go wrong, regardless of whether those others deserve blame or not." He turned to Spyro with a face full of regret. "The Ecologists faced…bullying, to say the least. Badly enough that they had to go into hiding just to escape it all." The elder averted his eyes, voice heavy with pity and shame. "No one has heard from them since."_

_Tears did not come often to Spyro, and even when they did the young drake always made a point to brush them away. After hearing a story like that, he couldn't help the misty sheen coating his eyes. _

_"They're still okay, right?"_

_Nestor smiled as he sat back down and placed a hand on the young one's tiny back. For all his mischief and bravado, Spyro possessed a kind heart. "The Ecologists were always known for their critical thinking and ingenuity." The green dragon made a face as he realized his wording and rephrased it before Spyro could ask. "Basically, they know how to think their way out of problems."_

_That last sentence inspired a small yet crooked grin from Spyro after he wiped his eyes. "Like me?"_

_A good-natured scoff escaped the taller reptile. "In certain aspects, I'm sure. They had a strong sense of responsibility as well. Such as, say, knowing when to go to bed on time?"_

_Little Spyro rolled his eyes at the not at all transparent words. He knew when to take a hint. "OK, fine."_

**XXX**

This same story Nestor relayed to Elora, Spyro adding his two cents as the faded memory returned to him. By the end, the faun smiled at how her friend ended off the recounted memory. However, that smile proved short-lived once she registered the pensiveness on both dragons' faces.

"Malefor."

A shiver went down the faun's spine from speaking that name, filling Elora with fear far beyond anything Ripto ever managed. However, the more she mulled over the situation, the more righteous anger bubbled to the surface. "…so, they had to live with the fallout of _his _actions all this time and got treated like villains for it? Spyro's right, that _is _unfair! They had to have proven themselves if the dragons that came back are willing to put in a good word for them."

The faun banged a fist against her knee as she spoke, the sight of such righteous anger inspiring an empathetic half-smile from Nestor. No wonder Spyro befriended her.

"You are correct," the Artisan leader agreed, "What's more, the rest of us dragons have our own atonement to answer for. Not only did the rest of our clans play a part in Malefor's corruption, we denied this truth and turned our backs on the Ecologists to preserve our own pride."

"So…how are we gonna go about all this atonement stuff then?" Spyro inquired.

Nestor set his jaw in a rare moment of self-consciousness. "In full honesty, Spyro, that plan remains in…development, although I _do_ have a few ideas on how we could get started. In the meantime, you should speak with the female Artisans and hear of their experiences with the Ecologists so that you'll have a better grasp of the situation."

Sounded like a good idea to Spyro. It'd be a great chance to know those ladies better anyway. Sudden buzzing drew his attention to his dragonfly companion, who zipped off his head and 'whispered' into his ear. Once the insect finished, Spyro's attention shifted to Elora. "Sparx says you might wanna check with the Professor and see how he figures into all this, too."

Elora set her hands akimbo with a determined smile. "Way ahead of you, Sparx."

After all, the elder man couldn't have met the Ecologists (let alone any dragons at all) before Spyro. Nor did he mention anything to that effect after the Ripto incident. In short, that old man better prepare himself for a full-speed interrogation.

Seeing this conversation reach a natural endpoint, Nestor stood up and dusted himself off. "In that case, we'd best be getting back. You have a lesson with Tomas in five minutes, Spyro. Miss Elora, I will ask Marco to fly you back to Dragon Shores if his schedule permits."

Spyro cocked his head, curious. "And what about you?"

"I'm going to send a message to the other guild leaders. We have some" – Nestor paused with a thoughtful hum and briefly averted eyes – "brainstorming to do."

_Assuming the other leaders give their support_, he silently added with a drop of wariness.


	4. Between Leaders

A few days after Hak's encounter with the three dragons and Nestor's crash course with Spyro and his friends, the five Realm leaders sat around a sizable wooden table within the cavernous meeting room of Stone Hill Castle. The signature tools of each attendant – a hammer, battle axe, ornate staff-wand, tribal walking staff, and cauldron of pink rock salts – lay against the wall at the back of the room.

"I can't believe you all agreed to this."

"I can't believe you're still complaining about it."

Cosmos eye-rolled at his Peace Keeper counterpart's nonchalant retort.

To spare everyone's sanity, Nestor cleared his throat before the wizard could fire a quip of his own. "You know as well as the rest of us that we must reestablish connections with the Ecologists. Considering how long they've been out of the loop, it's only fair their leader come here so they can acquaint themself with us."

Especially since Nestor had been the one to send said leader an open invitation after a majority vote among him and the other leaders the other day.

Cosmos scoffed at the Artisan's preposterous words. "Reacquaint. Even you should be questioning the validity of allowing one of those _heretics _to participate in this meeting, Nestor. Are we truly deigning to associate with them as if what happened millennia ago never happened?"

A faint growl echoed within Bruno's throat in response, only to quiet down at the gentle feel of the Dream Weaver leader's hand on his speckled shoulder.

"Keep in mind, Cosmos," Lateef admonished with trademark zen, "Just as we have had time to form assumptions of them, so have they unto us. It is in the interest of us all to help dispel toxic notions on both sides. Besides, let us not forgot that all our clans share a piece of the blame."

"Plus, there's the benefits of getting a scientist clan on our side," Titan added with arms crossed on the table. A frustrated frown followed suit. "I don't know about you guys, but me and the other Peace Keepers are getting pretty sick of having to play keep up with all these enemies having more up-to-date weaponry than us."

Nestor hummed in agreement. "Then we must do our best to ensure that their leader feels welcomed. It's the least we can do on behalf of our realms after all."

Lateef nodded; Cosmos rolled his eyes (again); Bruno huffed tersely; Titan shrugged.

_Good enough,_ the Artisan relented. He could just hope this consensus would endure to the meeting's end.

As if in tune with his thoughts, a light-blue glowing portal materialized before the group, startling enough that Lateef and Nestor had to restrain Cosmos and Titan from jumping up and reaching for their weapons. Bruno furrowed his brow at the telltale crackle of electricity and lack of magical energy. Tech for a grand entrance instead – he'd expected as much.

From the miasma of energy emerged a dragon none expected.

Arms behind their back, their body structure resembled Cedric of the Magic Crafters except vaguely blocky, black scales contrasting against the deep green underbelly, wing membranes, question mark-shaped tail tuft, and eyes. White angular horns ran backward then away from each other above the low bun at which their dark green hair ended. Their facial features resembled Lindar's due to the narrow snout yet without a sharp divot on the upper lip and with a small nose horn. Finally, their clothing consisted of a deep red business jacket and white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a matching maroon bowtie.

The Ecologist leader had arrived.

Without a word, the newcomer took easy casual steps towards the table, their eyes subtly taking in the other leaders, as the portal shrunk out of existence behind them with a twinkle. Once they reached the table, the dark dragon opened their mouth – and sneezed. All over Cosmos.

"Ugh, sorry for that," the dragon spoke in an apologetic tone that revealed a strong feminine voice, right hand in front of their mouth, as the sea-foam wizard hastily conjured a cloth and wiped himself off in frantic disgust. "One of my coworkers was in the middle of a botanical experiment involving pollen when I was passing by and forgot to lower the dome all the way. The excitement of an experiment bearing results will do that to you."

Um okay. Nestor cleared his throat before standing up and extending a hand in welcome. "It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Elder...?"

"Sofia," the dragoness replied as she revealed her left forearm – a metal one to everyone's shock – and returned Nestor's greeting with a firm grip. "And likewise. Now," she retreated her hand to gesture the palm outward in a genial fashion, "I believe some reciprocation is in order."

Nestor chuckled politely. This newcomer did not miss a beat, did she?

"Of course," he patted his own chest, "I am Nestor, leader of the Artisans." One by one, he gestured to each of his peers. "This is Titan, commander of the Peace Keepers. The shorter fellow next to him is Bruno, who presides over the Beast Makers. The one you just sneezed on is Cosmos, head of the Magic Crafters. And that is Lateef, leader of the Dream Weavers."

Sofia bent down in a respectful curtsy. "It is an honor to meet all of you."

Cosmos narrowed his eyes, scooching a little farther away from their guest lest he catch any more spittle. "I didn't expect your guild remained capable of magic."

Undoing the gesture, Sofia blinked at Cosmos before realization flashed in her eyes. "Oh no, that wasn't magic but rather teleportation technology. Usually it would have been more instantaneous, but I had to do some portal-hopping until it was within range of where Nestor said the meeting would take place in his letter. If any of you gentlemen need a demonstration to better understand what I mean, I'd be more than happy to –"

"No, no, that's alright," Lateef assured with a gentle chuckle as he held up his hand, "what matters is we are all present – and now that we are, we would like your input on the Ecologists' reintegration with the rest of the Dragon Realms."

The dark dragoness averted eye contact in brief embarrassment before clearing her throat and sitting down between Cosmos and Bruno, Nestor doing the same so the meeting could start at last.

Nothing eventful followed afterwards. Just discussions regarding the Ecologists' current situation and what Sofia and her guild intended to do moving forward, along with a few questions and suggestions about resources and the scattered dragon residents' reunions. That is until the meeting concluded, and everyone got up to leave, when Cosmos noticed a detail on Sofia's person that he hadn't before.

"A rather _odd_ choice of apparel for someone of your profession and status, don't you think?"

When Sofia turned to him in confusion, the wizard curtly jerked his head downward. The dragoness turned her eyes that same way until she realized he had referred to her wrist – to be more specific a rainbow bracelet with white plaid interlace.

"Oh. Oh!" Sofia blushed. "Just something an apprentice of mine made a long time ago." She held her wrist up and gave the article a fond gaze. "I've had it with me for so long, sometimes I forget I'm even wearing it."

An apprentice? Made _that_? For their mentor, no less?

Cosmos felt a weird feeling in the pit of his gut take shape and absolved to bury it down as much as possible. However, before he could open his mouth for a saucy comment, somebody elbowed past the sea-green reptile. Titan eyed the bracelet and gave Sofia his classic toothy smile.

"Aww, reminds me of the little wooden weapons the trainees make for me and the other veterans." He widened his grin even more, still genuine. "Kid must think pretty highly of you, huh?"

Blushing harder now, Sofia sidled her eyes away with a flattered face.

Cosmos rolled his eyes. Of course, this upstart would make instant friends with the heretic. For someone who headed a group charged with defending the Dragon Realms, Titan had no issue with being chummy towards someone he just met, never mind that person's reputation. Didn't help that Nestor and even Bruno seemed to warm up to this cad as well within five sentences of speaking to her one-on-one.

"There is no shame in empathy, my friend."

Cosmos stiffened up in alarm and shot his head around to discover Lateef suddenly beside him, the monk schooling his usual calm and all-knowing demeanor. When the elder reptile's words hit him at last, Cosmos puffed up like an insulted peacock and turned his head away in dramatic stubbornness.

"Please," he hissed at low volume, "empathy requires having something in common and I assure you that I have nothing – read my lips, _nothing_ – in common with that – that—" Cosmos gesticulated with helpless hands in a vain attempt to get something, _anything_, out regarding that woman!

A few minutes into the mini-show and Lateef could tell his fellow elder didn't have a metaphorical leg to stand on. Cosmos, despite his pride, realized the same and so resorted to the only other solution that he knew: cross his arms, pout, and pretend Lateef had nothing on him.

Decent attempt but Lateef knew that trick all too well.

"It is not as though anyone is asking you to fall in love with her. If you do not like her, then you do not like her. All I suggest is that you not be so quick to extend the way you view the Ecologists towards yourself as well."

When Cosmos looked to him in utter perplexity, Lateef held back the urge to chuckle. "It isn't healthy to bury your emotions, let alone from yourself. Take the time to sit down and analyze why you feel the way you do. You may have an easier time seeing the truth afterwards."

And with that, Lateef departed to sit back in his seat and watch the other leaders in their burgeoning conversation with Sofia, leaving the wizard to ruminate over his words.

**XXX**

_Ah, it feels good to be home._

With this thought, Sofia sighed as she traversed a long white hallway laden with neon blue lights in the ceiling. That meeting went as productive as predicted. Hopefully, the other leaders would take what she shared into consideration.

As she mulled today over, the black dragoness reached a pair of neon-circuited doors accompanied by a biometric scanning pad on the left. Pressing her hand to the pad, she willed the doors to slide open and entered a massive lowly-lit monitor room. The left wall boasted rows upon rows of computer screens along its length, a long and curved desk in front with computers of its own and comfy black dragon-sized office chairs; the right wall a coffee counter in the middle with beanbag chairs of various colors off to the right and doors to the unisex restrooms to the left; and the middle a floor-to-ceiling window giving a beautiful view of the beach bordering the Ecologist Homeworld.

Sofia's eyes scanned the room. Hmm, nobody here. Could her assistant be running late?

"Miss Sofia!"

Ah never mind. She turned at the younger-sounding voice. From the restrooms approached a shorter chubby hornless orange dragon with a soft sepia underbelly and wing membranes, and short brushed-back dark brown hair, wing frames, and star-shaped tail fin. He sported a russet jacket with lighter-hued edges around the wrists, neck, and waist. A clipboard lay in his hands.

Sofia acknowledged the youth with a warm smile. "Nicolas. Anything to report?"

The young adult perused his clipboard. "Systems are all up, no malware detected so far, all upgrades on schedule," he lifted his brown eyes with a grin of fond exasperation, "and I think someone tried to snatch up your piece of strawberry cheesecake again, judging by Franz's expression when I caught him in the kitchen."

_Of course._ The Ecologist leader rolled her eyes. "That man, I swear," she murmured in resignation. "Speaking of Franz, are his sister and the Professor still in the middle of their analysis on those tablets from Desert Ruins?"

"As a matter of fact, they just messaged in and said they've already finished! The report should be in the cloud storage by now." Nicolas earned a grateful smile from his senior and perked in humble pride. "By the way, how did the meeting go?"

Sofia pursed her lips in thought. "Hmm. Informative. The other Leaders are…an interesting bunch to say the least." _And strong-willed, too_, she mentally added. That trait would no doubt complicate certain discussions in the future. "All the more reason for us to be thankful things went smoother than I expected."

"Then it sounds like your plan to make contact with the rest of dragonkind is working so far."

"We're fortunate the Professor agreed to it, despite knowing us for such a short time." Let alone considering the burden the elder mole no doubt shouldered by associating with a group as shunned as theirs. The black dragoness had feared her request would be too much. "We originally intended to send one of our own alongside one of the other clans' female dragons as a messenger."

Nico cocked his head out of interest. "In that case, why didn't you go down that route? You know we've made friends among the ones the Sorceress stranded here. They would've vouched for us."

Many of them already have by now, no doubt, Sofia knew. Even so she shook her head. "I know. I just...want to ease our way into things. It'd been so long since we interacted with the other guilds in their entirety. It's also why I allowed you to be our ambassador in a sense." The older dragon tousled Nico's hair with a chuckle. "Who could ever distrust a face like that?"

Hearing that made Nicolas hunch in self-consciousness. He hadn't needed to be the one the Professor had to contact either, so he felt relief that he carried out his role as intended. "Thank you for letting me go to Gnorc Gnexus, by the way, Miss Sofia. I know I must have really worried you and Uncle with my request to meet the Professor there, even with Miss Eleanor and Kazue tagging along."

Sofia smiled maternally. There never passed a day where she and the other Ecologists did not worry over their young ward who had grown and grown over the years. "We can't keep you sheltered forever. You had every right to see our former home – well, _one_ of our former homes – for yourself."

Nico returned the smile in appreciation.

"Now then, could you message the Professor back and ask him to meet me and your uncle at the bridge this evening? I'd like to hammer out an arrangement for a portal from here to Avalar." That way the elderly mole wouldn't have to travel here all the way from Dragon Shores anymore. Nico nodded in affirmation. "Thank you."

Just before the younger dragon could turn and leave, a light gasp left Sofia. "Oh, before I forget, there's more one detail I need to mention. The Artisan leader and I had a long talk after the meeting about an idea he ran by us, one I've been considering myself."

Nico craned his head forward without invading his Elder's space, curious. "Really? What was the idea?"

A knowing smile took over Sofia's snout. "Tell me, Nico. How does a trip to the Artisan Realm sound?"

* * *

**For reference pictures of my OCs:**

**Artisans - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs**

**Peace Keepers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs**

**Magic Crafters - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs**

**Beast Makers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs**

**Dream Weavers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs**

**Ecologists - ****~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs**


	5. Tell Me More

"Oh, aren't you just the most precious little thing!"

Okay, when Spyro told Nestor he wanted to get to know the female Artisans, this wasn't what he had in mind.

The drake had just entered Astor's home – Alban directed him here after one of his godforsaken calligraphy lessons– when this old lady came down upon him like the grim reaper's grandmother.

His poor cheeks were currently at the mercy of an old carnelian dragon with a raspberry underside, medium pink wing membranes, darker raspberry for the spine ridges running from head to tail and three pentagonal spots on each deltoid, gray hair–on the top in a granny bun, slightly thick eyebrows, and as a tuft on the tip of her tail—and curvy white horns reminiscent of Tomas' with much smaller ones in front. Her clothing consisted of a violet blue overall apron and arm sleeves, and a pair of black-framed square glasses.

And holy fudge did this lady have a grip!

"Uh, thansh?" Spyro eyed Sparx out of his peripherals in desperation. The dragonfly merely shook his head in both bemusement and speechlessness, just as beside himself. It was clear neither of them had been prepared for this.

To Spyro's fortune, the older reptile took notice and thus released the boy with a fond chuckle that exposed her snaggletooth. "My apologies, dearie! The idea of getting to meet you has been on my mind ever since Astor and Nessie and everyone else sent me all those letters about you!"

_'Nessie'._ PFFFFT. How Spyro and Sparx managed to keep straight faces, the world would never know.

"Ah, that's right, how rude of me! My name is Amanda; I'm Astor's wife and Nestor's stepmother!" With her intro out of the way, she started to gently herd Spyro and Sparx into her and Astor's living room. "Come along, come along now! Here I am smothering you while the others are dying to meet you!"

"There's a gross overstatement," a dry kind of squawky voice quipped somewhere to Spyro's left the moment they entered.

Out of the kitchen to the left stepped out a tall, slim yellow dragoness with light cream for the underbelly and front of her muzzle, a darker yellow for the wing frame, wavy head horns like Nevin's, a tinier horn on the nose and three each running along her jaw, mottled pale-yellow spots along her back, and a pencil-like yellow cone with a darker tip at the end of her tail. Her dark green/green clothing consisted of an Inverness cape, ascot, belt, and studded wristbands.

She schooled the younger dragon before her with a cool smirk. "Personally speaking, your preceding reputation sounds like more entertainment than I need in one lifetime, but if it's any consolation – OOF!"

"Be nice." The reproach and accompanying elbowing came from an orange dragoness with a body shape like Tomas' (albeit somewhat slimmer) and yellow-orange underbelly. Dark red colored her short wavy hair, freckles, and wing membranes as well as her sparse tail-mane and trio of spots on each outer thigh, orange her wing frames. Her angular off-white horns formed a diamond shape while her same-colored tail club resembled a rounded marquise gem, three horns on each side of her head as well except on the cheeks. Her periwinkle blouse contrasted well against both her medium-blue sleeveless Victorian-style vest and its dark-blue buttons and stripes and the single-eyed black loupe around her neck.

"Don't mind Carmen, Spyro," she assured him. Her British-accented voice was quite prominent. "She's perhaps been the most excited out of all of us to meet you; she just doesn't want to admit it. Mother Serpent knows how her husband Devlin and brother Nevin deal with her." She ignored Carmen's indignant huff as she put a hand to her own chest with a smile. "My name's Eleanor. You know my fiancé, Gavin. It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

Spyro returned the smile. "Nice to meet ya, too! This here's my good buddy, Sparx!" The golden dragonfly offered a happy welcoming buzz in turn. "So, since the gang's all here, what you ladies got planned?"

Amanda clapped her hands in eagerness. "Ah, I knew my silly self was forgetting something!" She gestured everyone to follow her as she moved to step out the back door. "This way, everyone!"

Moments later, all of the group except Amanda sat in white wicker chairs on the house's backdoor veranda, the eldest reptile having gone back inside to fetch some cherry lemonade while the others conversed, Carmen and Amanda answering whatever questions Spyro and Sparx had on their minds.

"So, you're some kind of detective?"

"Private investigator, in fact. It's essentially the same occupation except I'm not restricted by affiliation with law enforcement." At Spyro's blank stare, Carmen held back a sigh. "I get to solve crimes however I want."

"Cool! Do you ever get to see any crime scenes? Robberies, car chases, murders? What about going undercover?"

A cocky chuckle met these inquiries. "All that and more, my boy. Of course, don't go expecting anything of _that_ level of excitement once we're properly situated into Nestor's lesson schedule."

Oh right, Spyro realized with a cringe. He hadn't considered that. A hand atop his head eased his concerns before they could bum him out.

Eleanor spoke up. "Don't worry, Spyro. We Artisan ladies have a little more sense when it comes to teaching others."

That and Amanda gave Nestor and even Astor a chew-out once they shared their approach in teaching Spyro. Not that said approach had been _completely _wrong since the men had been teaching the boy necessary lessons; rather that every single Artisan got shoehorned into the role of teacher.

Because _Alvar_? Not with that temper.

"Is that your way of saying your lessons are gonna be more fun?"

Carmen rolled her eyes. "If by 'fun' you mean 'less likely to lose your attention 10 seconds in', then yes." Her lips curled into a sardonic smile. "Though compared to the likes of say Argus, I doubt watching out for such will prove _that _difficult."

The muted clink of drowned ice cubes against the inner walls of glass drew attention to Amanda, who emerged right then with four tall, chilled glasses of the promised coral beverage. She even brought a saucer filled with the same fruity goodness for Sparx. After a round of thanks and minute or two passed via sips, Spyro seized opportunity to learn more.

"Okay, so Carmen's here a private investigator. Nice. What do _you_ guys do then?"

Amanda and Eleanor shared a debating look before the latter, out of politeness, gestured her elder to go first.

"I'm a toymaker. Puppets, dolls, wooden trains, the occasional spy device. Nothing too spectacular." The blissful senior ignored everyone's (Spyro's and Sparx's in particular) weirded-out stares as she took another taste of her drink. "It's a deep shame I missed your infancy though, Spyro. It would've been such a delight to spoil you back then."

Spyro held back a blush, ignoring Sparx's amused snicker, but still smiled. As embarrassing as that sounded, he had to admit a certain appeal to having someone shower him with that kind of affection.

Not that Nestor and the others skimped on showing how much they cared. For as long as he could remember, Spyro knew they all did their best to raise him right and ensure not just his future but his happiness as well. Heck, even all those lessons, frustrating and boring as they could be, were sheer proof.

It just...it just seemed as though Spyro always found a way to screw things up, almost like Fate ordained him to be nothing short of a disappointment. Because he _tried, _he tried to do right by his guardians, show them he could be as great as them, the people who cared for and put up with him for so long. Over and over, only to fail again and again for one reason or another.

Thinking about all that started to put the little dragon into a funk he'd rather avoid right now. He didn't want to give these ladies the impression they were stuck with some perpetual mope. Fortunately for him, Amanda chose that time to speak up.

"Well now, Ellie dear. I believe that's all on my end; the floor belongs to you now."

"Oh right!" The tangerine dragon cleared her throat. "I myself am a jeweler. Brooches, necklaces, watches, earrings, anything you can add on to look nice: if it needs making or fixing, you can always rely on me."

Spyro cocked his head in interest. "Basically, if I want any bling-bling, you're the gal to see."

Eleanor gave an amused half-smile. "Basically yes. Speaking of which," she took another brief take of her drink, "I recommend being at your best for your next lesson, seeing as it will be with me."

"What, are you like super-hard or something?"

Noting the boy's somewhat nervous tone, Eleanor smirked. "Not _super _hard. Just super hard-working. In short, don't expect to get away with slacking under my...," she paused for dramatic effect, "_watch_."

Her audience stared back in silence. Carmen and Spyro decided against pointing out how it qualified more as a Lindar-pun than an Eleanor-pun. Speaking of whom, the dragoness sighed with a sag once she caught on that her joke fell flat. Amanda pat the younger dragon's back out of comfort.

"Since we're on the topic of lessons," Carmen spoke up after she drained the last of her drink, "Nestor brought to our attention that there's been a marked change in how you've been approaching your lessons as of late. He even went so far to call it an improvement of sorts."

Spyro furrowed his brow. "Like what?"

"More confidence. Less of a tendency to give up in frustration when what you do doesn't proceed as planned." Granted, there had still been mishaps (this _was_ Spyro after all) but overall, the little drake pushed forward with more purpose than before according to the reports.

"Oh, that! Heh, I guess having to go on an epic world-saving adventure does wonders for self-esteem." Sparx rolled his eyes at his friend's bravado. Not that Spyro didn't have a point but still.

"Don't misinterpret that I'm not happy for this development in your growth, but that brings up a point I've been meaning to ask you ever since Nestor and the others told the story to us: how _did_ you manage to not get caught up in the blast?" Gnasty managed to entrap very adult dragon present in the Dragon Realms with his spell. Did Spyro squeak through because of his size?

The purple dragon waned in his smile. "I sort of figured Gnasty didn't bother cuz he didn't think I'd be much of a threat."

Not too out of character for the Gnorc leader. Regardless, Carmen felt dissatisfied with that explanation.

Eleanor butted in before the yellow dragon could bombard the boy with any further questions. "All the same, you deserve credit for going as far as you did to help the others. I'm just glad the spell didn't prevent them from being able to speak with you."

"Yeah about that. Nobody ever explained anything to me about that spell Gnasty used, I think mostly cuz they didn't quite get how it worked either."

Eleanor rolled her eyes once she noticed Carmen perk up at this 'prime opportunity' to show off. Oh, sweet Mother Serpent. Better get comfortable for this one.

"Allow me to explain then! Essentially what you freed were their souls and minds. Think of them as ghosts of people who hadn't died yet – they were still alive but phased through everything in the physical world while their bodies remained in a magical subspace contained to those platforms you found them on. Usually, such an advanced spell can only end for real if the original caster either undoes it or is soundly defeated."

Okay wow. That was a bit to take in.

Regardless, Spyro and Sparx shared a look of mild understanding. They well remembered the terror from seeing Nestor's hand phase through Spyro's head in a denied attempt at comfort. Ghosts but not ghosts, huh? That _would _explain why all the adult dragons couldn't tag along with them at the time, let alone why they always shimmered away once they got done talking to Spyro.

Although that begged another question, one Carmen predicted without flaw.

"And just to save your breath, I can also verify that despite his intentions, Gnasty clearly lacked the know-how for the spell to restrict his targets' movements all the way. Though the other dragons were still prisoners in a sense, your efforts granted them mobility in the spiritual realm. In most cases, that would be all one could do in such a state, but since we dragons are magical beings by nature and they were full grown no less, they had enough power to alter their prisons' positions as well."

Which given how far the Dragon Realms in general are from Gnorc Gnexus, could not have been an easy feat for any of them, even the Magic Crafters. That just went to show their urgency to ensure Spyro as much heads-up as possible before facing Gnasty.

Spyro blinked, eyes wide in awe. "Whoa, that's kinda wild. But...wait. How do _you_ know about all this stuff? No offense but you're not a Magic Crafter."

Carmen smirked. "A truly effective investigator must be as well-rounded as possible in their knowledge. Even the smallest or most seemingly insignificant detail can overturn a case after all!"

Made sense, made sense. Spyro pursed his lips.

"Okay...then how come only_ Sparx and I_ could free everybody?"

That. That was a good question. For once, Carmen found herself at a loss for words, tail tip curling inward from reluctant uncertainty.

Once again, Eleanor came to the rescue. "You know what, Spyro? It's fine if we can't figure the answer to that out. What matters is that you took a stand and saved the day when no one else could! Few dragons can say they did that, let alone at your age!"

Even though Sparx could see the obvious change in subject, the clear boost to Spyro's self-esteem in the small dragon's smile and posture made the dragonfly appreciate the dragoness's save. Plus, she had a point; no point in worrying over how you pulled something off if it helped everybody in the end.

"I'm just glad you ladies weren't around to get caught in Gnasty's spell-happy spree yourselves." That did not look fun for Nestor and the guys.

Amanda chuckled. "Only because we were still helping the Ecologists pan out some details. Otherwise, we would have settled back with everyone else ages ago and very well have been our own decorations." She noticed Spyro arch a brow in interest. The elder dragon wagged a finger. "Now, now. We can't spoil _all_ the details; you'd still like to be surprised, wouldn't you?"

Way to keep someone in suspense. Spyro sagged, mindful not to spill his drink. "Ah c'mon! Not even a _little _hint?"

For a moment, Amanda seemed as though she would confirm as much – except a look from the two other lady dragons gave her pause. With a creak, she eased herself out of the chair and polished the last of her drink. "Well, you _did _talk with Nestor prior after all and while we are serious about keeping certain plans a surprise for you, there _are _a few things you have the right to know about." She looked to Eleanor, who nodded and stood up as well.

"In that case, this way, boys," the jeweler stated, "Be sure to finish your drinks, first."

A few minutes later, everyone piled into Stone Hill Castle where Carmen (with Nestor's permission) pulled out a scroll detailing a letter, one sent to Nestor from someone named 'Sofia', and read it aloud for Spyro and Sparx.

_Nestor, Leader of the Artisans_

_Words cannot do my relief and gratitude towards your consent for this undertaking justice. _

_Though much will still need to be done on all sides to reconcile dragonkind, I believe this first act will go far in achieving that goal._

_As agreed, we will take this reintegration process at a pace agreeable to both sides while ensuring enough steady interactions that our clans establish a mutually beneficial relationship. For this reason, Ecologists will travel to your realm sometime in the following weeks to familiarize themselves with your way of life._

_If any issues or concerns on your side regarding this arrangement materialize, please do not hesitate to notify me so that we can revise our plans whenever necessary._

_Sincerely,_

_Sofia_

By the end, both the dragon and dragonfly gaped. Even with all the big fancy words, the two gleaned enough to get the gist of this letter.

"Bzz bzzt?! (For real?!)"

"I know, right?!" So, this is part of what Nestor meant with all that atonement talk. Spyro looked to the older dragons, tail wagging in excitement. "Any idea when they'll be showing up?"

Carmen huffed as she rolled the scroll back up and returned it to its rightful place. "Not to burst your bubble, but I doubt every single Ecologist will be making a grand entrance in our realm. Not so soon anyway. Nestor will notify us later this evening about all this just to make sure everyone's on the same page, but from what I could infer, only one of them will be visiting for now." She stroked her chin. "No genius required to know who."

Spyro and Sparx shared a look of confusion. Amanda smiled in sympathy in turn and gestured a hand to Eleanor, drawing everyone's attention to her.

The orange dragon blushed vermillion at being put in the spotlight. She cleared her throat to regain composure. "That would be Nicolas. I accompanied him on his brief assignment to Gnorc Gnexus and rendezvous with the professor to relay what the Ecologist leader – that's Sofia by the way – intended to do concerning what the Ecologists would do going forward. The professor agreed to lift his vow of silence concerning those closest to him afterwards."

Which meant Elora shouldn't have had any trouble getting info out of him then. Good to know.

"Anyway, the reason Nico's coming here is because he's not only Ecologist but Artisan as well. Sofia wants her clan to ease back into the Dragon Realms, and she figured the biggest priority now that everyone's back home would be giving the Ecologists of mixed heritage a chance to explore and get to know everyone first. One at a time, that is." She clasped her hands together and smiled. "I think you'll come to like him, Spyro and Sparx. Nico is a very sweet young man."

"Oh, indeed he is!" Amanda added in cheer. She started counting off on her fingers. "Gentle, considerate, honest—"

"An absolute throw pillow," Carmen uttered under her breath. Eleanor elbowed her again.

"Bzzt, b-b-bzzt, bzzt bzzt bzzt! (Then we'll just have to show him a good time then)," Sparx chirped.

"You said it, buddy!" Spyro laughed before he faced the ladies with a confident grin, "Don't worry! We'll make sure this guy has a day here he'll never forget!"

_That's what I'm afraid of,_ Carmen and Eleanor mused in silent dread.

* * *

**For reference pictures of my OCs:**

**Artisans - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs**

**Peace Keepers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs**

**Magic Crafters - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs**

**Beast Makers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs**

**Dream Weavers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs**

**Ecologists - ****~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs**


	6. Strangers Like Me - Part 1

_You understand your role, correct?_

_Yeah, yeah. You understand your end of the bargain, right?_

_Carry out _your _end and payment will be nothing less than assured._

**XXX**

Despite being here for a mere few minutes, Nico found himself enjoying the Artisan Realm already.

Who could blame him? Sunny blue skies, soft green grass dotted by colorful flowers, rolling idyllic hills complete with tall healthy trees, elegant stone structures, crystal clear waterfalls. This hub world alone would make for a delightful vacation spot.

Now then, where could the guide be? Fortunately, he didn't have to search far to spot Nestor, who waited by the entrance to a sizable hedge-labyrinth.

"Ah, young Nicolas!" Nestor greeted once he noticed his guest approach him. He held out his hand. "Welcome to Artisans! My name is Nestor; I can tell you're looking forward to exploring our Homeworld!"

Nico chuckled and accepted the Realm Leader's hand. "I-I am! Miss Sofia felt it would do me good to visit now that I can finally see the other side of my heritage."

_Ah yes_, the emerald elder recalled. Sofia had mentioned a few of the Ecologists having mixed ancestry, the boy here included. "Then I assure you that we will do all in our power to help you feel welcome here, young one." He took back his hand and gestured the smaller dragon to follow him into the labyrinth. "Our first stop will be Dark Hollow. I figured you might enjoy the library there and the amount of information it contains."

Nico nodded as he followed Nestor through the maze, which wasn't particularly large. Since reaching the portal did not take long in turn, Nico couldn't help but notice Nestor taking his sweet time getting there. Was he trying to stall?

The peach-palette dragon shook his head just as he and Nestor walked through the portal. Best not to assume.

Besides, the world that greeted him on the other side demanded far more attention. His curiosity piqued in an instant at the clear midday sky as well as stone structures with candles dotting their walls. All these details, while pleasant in daylight, suggested a more tranquil mystical atmosphere at night. Chances are they wouldn't stay around long enough for that. A shame.

As the young man drunk in the sites, Nestor took the opportunity to scan the area for a certain someone. Hopefully not Alban as the feather-haired scribe had made his disgruntled opinion regarding the lost dragon clan visiting this realm quite clear. Before long, Nestor's eyes landed on a certain other red dragon on the next 'level', organizing some books on one of the outdoor shelves.

Nestor cupped his hand to his mouth and called out, "Oswin!"

The fellow in question turned his turbaned head and beamed in delight before he hopped down to their level and walked up to them.

"Ah Nestor! Not a moment too soon! I was just about to check with you on whether our guest had arrived yet." Speaking of whom, his attention turned to Nicolas. "Is this the dear boy Miss Sofia mentioned?"

Nodding, Nestor turned to his guest and stepped aside so the two dragons could greet each other in a more proper manner. "Nicolas, this is Oswin; he is the librarian of our Realm."

Nico heartily shared a handshake with Oswin. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Please, the pleasure is all mine! I can't tell you how many times I've read through all our available books on the Ecologists! To think I'd ever get to meet one of them in this lifetime. Astounding!"

The way Oswin kept gazing at him, though benevolent, made Nico start to feel scrutinized like a science project. Thankfully, Nestor noticed the same and cut in from behind with, "Ah that reminds me, Oswin! Didn't you receive a new collection of books from Sunny Villa just the other day?"

With a gasp of realization, Oswin released Nico's hand. "That's right, thank you for reminding me, Nestor! This way please!" He led his group to the alcove right before the end of the area and down the steps. In moments, the group emerged into a domed subterranean library riddled with lit candles. The floor consisted of large platforms bordered by shallow water, a design choice that Nico silently questioned in terms of practicality.

The reverie cut short as Oswin's voice called attention. "With a plethora of subjects covered in the new books combined with what we already have," the bookkeeper rotated to face his companions and stretched both arms out in a grandiose fashion, "there's _bound_ to be something to catch your interest! Go around, see what you like! Oh, but before you do, there's something I better let you in on."

Oswin pulled out a book from a nearby shelf and waved a hand above it. On cue, an iridescent shimmer passed over the item.

"Not that I don't trust you to return any of these books, but those egg thieves like to break the mold every now and then. That's why I made sure to enchant all the books in Dark Hollow to teleport back to their respective shelves whenever somebody tries to take 'em outside the area. A little something a friend from Magic Crafters taught me." He punctuated this explanation with a wink.

Huh, clever. Nico scanned the library for titles he'd find interesting. So engrossed in the task, he never noticed Nestor pull Oswin aside (and out of earshot) for a talk.

_Wow, he wasn't kidding about these books being diverse, _the pastel dragon mused in wonder. Already he had stumbled across twenty different topics in just half a minute (and yes, he'd counted). Alas, none caught his eye yet and part of him couldn't help but feel ashamed of that. His guild valued well-rounded knowledge and Miss Sofia always advised to take opportunities to learn new things, even if they seemed boring.

Hmm. Might as well mitigate the pain and pick the _least _boring one. How about—

Out of nowhere, someone bumped into his side at high speed, nearly knocking him down! Nico managed to catch himself on the wall with one hand, preventing himself from falling down, and lifted his head just in time to see a blue-robed figure dash out of the library, holding something to their chest with robed arms.

"Well that was rude," Nico mumbled to himself as he sent a cross face the offender's way.

A sudden shimmer off the peripherals caught his attention and drew it to a shelf off to his right, this one near coasted by the water. A closer inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary at first – until the shimmer happened again, this time as an opalescent gleam encompassing a navy-blue book with gold trimming.

Odd. This didn't fit with Mr. Oswin's description. Why glow if the book was right where it should be? Did that count as normal around here?

Nico furrowed his brow, unsure, and reached a tentative hand towards the book...

"THIEF!"

Startled by the shout, Nico stared with widened eyes and dashed out the library just in time to see Nestor holding said robed figure by the scruff of his neck while Oswin snatched away what turned out to be a book from their hands. With a swift resounding kick, Nestor sent the thief flying high into the sky until they sailed out of view with a cartoonish twinkle.

Just then, Oswin turned and noticed their audience. A meek smile came about. "Oh, our apologies you had to see that. We were just about to come back inside when that hooligan came running out. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Nico blinked and shook his head. Aside from getting shoved aside, he was fine. Aside from that, though, words failed to come since this sort of thing never happened back home.

Nestor sighed in relief. "In that case, would you like to keep looking inside for a book you like, or would you rather move onto the next area? We have plenty of time."

That last sentence proved to be the A-OK Nico needed to affirm his wish to continue his search for a good book. He didn't wish for the elders' efforts for this part of their trip to be for nothing, after all. However, once Oswin passed him by as everyone returned to the library, his sharp eyes noticed something off about the carried piece of literature.

Didn't the spine on that book look the same as that of the glowing one? Then something even more suspicious occurred to Nico as he followed the adults into the library: he noticed said book in the same direction from which that thief originated. He paused, the adults getting a few steps ahead before he spoke up.

"Mr. Oswin, sir?"

The elder looked to him. "Yes?"

"You said it's not possible for books to get snuck out, right?"

"That's right."

"What about books getting snuck in?"

Oswin's face scrunched in genuine confusion.

Nico ducked his head in brief thought. Maybe he should rephrase that question. "What I mean is," he stuck a finger at what he meant, "has that one always been here?"

Oswin looked to where Nico was pointing and approached the shelf in question. Once his eyes landed on the aforementioned book and he compared it to the one in his hands, he sighed. "I was afraid of this." At Nico's confused look, he elaborated. "I made sure to give the anti-theft spell to every book in here and do the same for any new addition that comes in, meaning that thief was hoping to make off with this," he held up the book he got back from the thief, revealing it to look just like the one on the shelf, "while tricking us into thinking we still had it."

With that, Oswin pulled out the fake book and switched it out with the real one. "Good eye, by the way. Not that we wouldn't have noticed ourselves, but a little early detection never hurts either! I'll have to see into the proper spell later on for this kind of underhanded trick. Was there anything else off you noticed about it?"

Blushing at the compliment, Nico shuffled his feet yet managed a small smile. "I-I think I also saw it glowing before, too, if that counts, sir."

"All the more proof! I'll see about getting this book treated and after that I'll be organizing the new arrivals. Unless that is, are there any titles you'd like to check out?" At the boy's hesitation, the turbaned reptile gave a soft and encouraging smile.

"...Actually," Nico spoke at last, "I was hoping you might have something about fireworks?"

**XXX**

_Act natural, Nestor said. Go about your business, he said._

Easy for the Big Boss to say. He didn't have Complicated BackstoryTM correlating to today! Lindar breathed out in resignation as Gavin's café came into view at last. He knew this day would be coming. Nestor told _everyone_ this day would be coming.

Well excuse Lindar if he had a hard time focusing today and wanted some coffee courage. Landing right in front of the door, he sighed in relief and strolled through the door, bell ringing upon his entrance.

"Lindar!" Gavin greeted from behind the bar. "The usual mocha?"

"Yeah," the clockmaker grunted as he sat down on one of the bar stools. From one of his pockets he pulled out a stack of cookies wrapped up in cellophane tied up at the top and set it on the counter. "Extra cream this time."

As the barista got to work on the order, his dark eyes trailed over to the maya blue dragon, who kept looking down at the wooden patterns of the bar top. His attention lingered on the cookies for a moment, but he shrugged it off.

"Gem for your thoughts? Nobody here but us."

At first, Lindar seemed ready to deny anything – only to sigh in defeat and rub his eyes for a moment. "Am I being overdramatic about this?" He took note of Gavin's amused stare and rolled his eyes. "About the kid." When Gavin didn't let up, Lindar threw his hands in the air with an annoyed scowl. "About the kid that's _not_ Spyro!"

Gavin shrugged. "That depends. Your opinion about the Ecologists is pretty clear."

"As clear as everybody's opinion on me."

A disapproving frown took over Gavin's face. "Lindar. Not everyone's like your dad. Most of us couldn't care less that you've got Ecologist in you."

"Yeah, cuz most of you guys just happened to forget how much fun picking on the 'half-breed' was back then."

Gavin flinched and Lindar regretted his wording immediately, wilting in both posture and voice. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to lump you in there."

"It's okay." Gavin knew all too well the grief his longtime friend had to weather throughout his life. The lack of horns had been bad enough; the childhood grief over _this_ had been another beast altogether. "I knew what it was like for people to pick you apart and claim what's wrong with you. It's how we ended up friends."

Despite himself, Lindar smirked. "And here I thought we forged a friendship out of cleaning Alvar's kitchen."

"Hey, I wasn't the one sneaking off with his spices for a prank."

"You helped!"

"Only because I noticed you sneaking in and tried to get you out. You knew we weren't allowed in there alone." That and dealing with Alvar's temper was never a popular pastime.

Lindar arched a brow. "So, which part of getting me out entailed dipping yourself in flour and smearing raspberry jam over half your body so you'd look like a zombie as a distraction?"

Gavin tossed a sheepish grin over his shoulder. "Alvar hates zombies," he went back to making the mocha and muttered, "and near heart-attacks."

Lindar snorted at the memory, only to sag right away. "You think that kid ever had to deal with the same stuff as me?"

"Helping friends sneak out of kitchens?"

That quip earned a snort out of the other blue dragon. "No—well, probably—I meant catching grief from others for being Artisan and Ecologist."

"You can never be too sure from just assuming. From what Nestor said, he sounds young enough to have spent enough time around Eleanor and the others, so..." he shrugged and noticed Lindar's pensive expression. "Why do you ask?"

For a moment, no answer came from the normally talkative clockmaker much to Gavin's surprise.

"Before Nestor told everyone about the whole reintegration thing, he came to me about the Ecologists being back on the grid. Don't need ta be a genius to figure how _I_ reacted." He stared back at Gavin. "To tell you the truth, though, it got me thinking. I don't really _hate_ them. I just hate what being one of them meant for me, what I had to go through."

And now for the first time, there was someone here who might be able to understand him in full.

"What do you plan to do then?" Gavin asked as he finished the mocha and added cream to the top. He slid the completed drink over to Lindar, who picked it up and took a long swig.

The clockmaker's frown deepened. "I'm taking Nestor's advice and staying out of the kid's way, so he has better memories of this place than I did." It was the least he could do.

Gavin frowned in return not too sure he approved of his friend's decision all the way. "Sounds sensible I guess, but you don't _have _to keep avoiding him. From what Ellie, Carmen, and Amanda told us, he sounds like a nice kid."

"I know; that's why he's best off as far away from me as possible." Lindar may not act like it but he knew very well his own propensity for hurtful comments, let alone passive aggressive slights. Nice folks shouldn't have to deal with stuff like that. "Besides, I need to visit Nevin after this anyway to see how far he's come on some clocks I lent for painting, and we all know how much he _loves_ going on about his 'artistic palettes' and junk like that."

Besides, it would be the perfect excuse to avoid running into their little visitor. Nestor _did _say in the debriefing that Nevin's castle would not be one of the stops for a while. Hopefully, haggling with the artist on customers' color choices would not take too long.

Gavin nodded. "Alright. Just in case you _do_ run into the kid, be on your best behavior."

Lindar smirked and blew a half-hearted raspberry. "Aren't I always?"

The barista merely arched a brow, skeptic. Sometimes he wondered how Lindar and Spyro weren't related by blood.

"By the way."

"Hmm?" To Gavin's surprise, Lindar slid the cookies his way. "Could you do a favor for me?"

**XXX**

Nestor and Nico could only gape in awe and confusion at the kitchen covered floor to ceiling in batter. Upon closer inspection, the former noticed a strange dragon-shaped lump in the middle of the floor. A _Spyro-sized_ lump. Expression concerned, Nestor hurried over to the lump in record time, kneeled down, and swiped a thumb across one end to reveal the face of a dazed young purple dragon.

"Spyro? Spyro, are you alright?"

Slowly but surely, the purple dragon managed to regain consciousness as he lifted his head while Sparx burst from the goo in between his horns, eyes woozy and body swaying. "Oh hey, Nestor. How's the cake?"

The green dragon blinked. "Do you mean in appearance or taste because the former could use a bit more practice. As for the latter," he traced up some goo with his index finger and sampled it, "quite a tragedy it couldn't be enjoyed in a more...manageable product."

Spyro groaned as he shakily got back on his feet. "Yeah, I have _no_ idea how I managed this one."

A grunt sounded from Nico's left, directing everyone's attention to an even larger lump peeling off from the wall and wiping its face to reveal itself as Devlin. "In all honesty my boy, neither do I, and I was watching you the entire time."

Spyro sagged in defeat while Sparx and Nestor looked to him in sympathy, the elder dragon putting a hand on the youth's shoulder about to offer words of comfort. That was until Spyro noticed the slightly older dragon beside Devlin and perked right up, disaster fail forgotten in an instant. "Oh hey, you're that Nico guy, right?

The orange dragon gave an absent nod, still recovering from the fact that someone so small caused this much havoc.

"Nice to meet ya! Name's Spyro! This little guy here's Sparx!" He gestured his head to the dragonfly next to him, who waved back at Nico happily. "And this," he winced at the sight of the room, "was supposed ta be your 'Welcome to Our Neighborhood' cake."

Nico started in surprise. "Oh. You didn't have to go that far. I could have just bought a few pastries from here." He had plenty of Gems after all.

Devlin shook his head. "Nonsense, my boy! You're very bit an Artisan as the rest of us – and even if you weren't, you are our guest here!"

"Still, couldn't I help clean up here?" He wilted at the looks of confusion on everyone else's faces. "Just a little?"

"Are you sure?" Devlin inquired.

"Yeah," Spyro added, "I'm the one who made this mess! You don't gotta do that."

"Well no, but it'd feel wrong to just leave knowing this happened because you were going out of your way for me."

Nestor hummed contemplatively. He was starting to see a pattern with this kid. "How about this? You and I will dedicate fifteen minutes to helping the others clean. Once we reach the mark, though, we _must_ continue on. No negotiations."

For a moment, Nico seemed as though he might (gently) insist on seeing this mess to the end. However, his respect for authority won out and manifested in a meek nod and 'yes sir'. While not rebellious behavior per say, Nestor noted throughout the cleanup how the young adult would attempt to do more than his fair share of the work only to be either shooed away by Devlin or (more often) wind up in some weird passive-aggressive stalemates with Spyro that pit a dogged need to help against dogged independence.

"For the last time dude, I can handle this!"

"I just think you'll be done faster if I pitch in a little."

"I'm only taking so long cuz you keep asking me!"

"Well it might not take so long if you just let me help."

In truth, Nestor did not expect such a pushy side from someone so docile. Thank goodness the carpenter and Devlin took care to break these arguments up fast for the sake of time. Indeed, the fifteen-minute mark arrived in a seeming blink, and the Artisan leader called out as he wiped his hands on a clean rag.

"Alright, that ought to lessen the burden for you and the others, Spyro. I trust you all can handle the rest on your own?"

"No sweat!"

Giving the purple drake a nod, Nestor turned to Nico. "In that case, it's time to go."

Again, that heavy reluctance flashed in the boy's eyes, but obedience came easily regardless. Something Sofia warned Nestor about came back in memory, but the Artisan leader decided against voicing it. He didn't wish for the boy to feel criticized.

As a solution, he opted a detour to Stone Hill, more precisely Gavin's café.

Sure enough, the barista greeted the pair with a customer-ready grin before finishing his current order. After sliding a steaming cup of black coffee down the bar to Argus, Gavin turned to the nearing dragon pair.

"Aw, Nestor! So this here's that Sofia lady's boy, eh? Name's Gavin! Take a seat, see what tickles your fancy!" The tattooed dragon gestured a hand up at the fancy wooden menu hanging on the wall behind him as Nestor and Nico each took a seat at the counter. "Normally the alcohol's off-limits to minors, but I take it you just reached legal age recently, am I right?"

Nico blinked in both surprise and slight nervousness, but Gavin raised a hand before the younger dragon could ask him how he knew.

"Just kidding. Ellie told me you're not the biggest fan of drinking. No worries, we've got plenty other options. Just you name it!"

Checking first with Nestor only to receive an encouraging nod, Nico looked back at Gavin and folded his hands together. "Do you serve peach smoothies by any chance, sir?"

"You're just in luck! I just got a shipment of assorted fruits in just the other day!" He turned to his leader next. "Nestor, what about you?"

"I'll be content with a mere cup of Flat White."

Gavin snapped a finger-gun. "Be right back then!"

Once the barista left, Nestor turned to Nico to ask if he was enjoying himself, only to see the boy reading through his fireworks book with rapt attention. Deciding better, Nestor smiled and let the boy be for now, not wanting him to feel smothered. Instead, he took up word with Argus to pass the time.

Gavin came back a while later with both dragons' drinks...and a pack of peanut butter cookies? Nico and Nestor both blinked in surprise – pleasant surprise but still – when the barista offered this to the former.

"On the house, kid," Gavin answered with a wink before the young man could ask any questions.

After giving the older dragon a somewhat baffled thanks, Nico took an absentminded sip of his icy drink as he continued reading, taking bites of the cookies in between each read. The doorbell rang at someone else's entrance but neither Nico nor Nestor paid it any mind until a familiar rumbling voice spoke up.

"Hey kiddo."

Realizing he was the one being addressed by the newcomer, Nico turned to face them with a polite smile that fell into a taken back frown. Nestor looked over his shoulder as well and gasped, though more in surprise than alarm.

"Delbin, what are you doing here?"

The large red dragon shuffled his feet in place. "I, um, I figured it was high time I stopped stalling and saw my nephew." Speaking of whom, he noticed the boy's expression. "Ah, sorry. I guess I did spring myself on ya out of nowhere. Sorry about that."

Nico's face softened as the Eco-Artisan regarded the other red dragon with a head tilt. "Was...Was your sister's name Angela?"

For a cold second, Nestor sees the flash of pain shoot across Delbin's eyes. However, the buff artist hid the pain well with a friendly smile and nod. At first, the related reptiles shared a look of bashful uncertainty before Delbin extended a hand.

"It's good to meet you."

Nico stared at the hand as if deliberating before taking it with a firm shake with some hesitation before taking back his own. Again silence settled in, but Nestor proved quick to step in before repeated awkwardness could occur. "Delbin, would you like to take a seat?"

"Hmm? Oh, I don't want to put you guys out, Nestor!"

"Please?" Both elder dragons looked in surprise at Nico, who blushed at both the attention and his own blurting. "U-Um...if you're alright with that...sir."

Despite his initial surprise, Delbin chuckled. "We're family, aren't we? No 'sirs' necessary here. Just call me Uncle...if you want, of course!"

Nico opened his mouth as if to answer, only to second-guess and smile back instead, the sight of which Delbin considered a success. The painter cocked his head sideways at the article in the boy's hands.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Oh! This is just a book on fireworks I borrowed from the library. It's the closest I could find to my field of interest."

Delbin took a seat next to Nico, opposite of Nestor. "Is that so? Planning on getting into special effects?"

Nico nervously tapped his fingers against the book spine. "A certain kind of art, actually. It might be a bit hard to explain."

His uncle (wow that term would take some getting used to) shrugged one broad shoulder as if to say, 'try me'.

While the two red reptiles talked amongst Delbin ordering his own drink, Nestor watched the scene in between sips of his coffee with a smile. From what the Artisan leader gathered from today, this boy had proven the polar opposite of Spyro. One would think such a personality would be a welcome reprieve from the purple dragon and his chaotic eagerness; Nestor was only halfway sure in that regard. In fact, he was starting to see where Spyro might have been onto something.

Nicolas could use some of the smaller dragon's confidence for one. Nestor caught Nicolas several times in the middle of a mental stall, the boy not so much struggling to decide as much as garnering the will to make that decision known. Second, Nico had this eagerness to please others that Spyro – no, Spyro had that too but it was more like how while Spyro did so to prove himself Nico did so to avoid upsetting the status quo.

Still, Spyro could stand to learn something about self-restraint and caution from this young man as well. For all his hesitation and people-pleasing, Nico knew well when to stand down.

Perhaps it would do to arrange some time for the boys to get to know each other better. Without the task of a giant mess as pretense that is.

Best leave that idea on the backburner for the moment. Delbin and Nico seemed to be getting along well anyway, so Nestor saw no need to interrupt. Once everyone finished their drinks, Nestor suggested the next stop be Nevin's castle since Nico showed a keen interest when Delbin mentioned his occupation as an artist.

Turns out the two red dragons were still so locked in conversation that Delbin wound up tagging along for the time being – and almost immediately after turning a corner right before the entrance to Nevin's castle, Nico forgot to watch where he was going and bumped into the chest of someone headed out.

"O-Oh! Sorry about that sir!" Nico blurted to the somewhat taller light-blue dragon before him.

"Eh, don't sweat it, kid," the other dragon stated as he brushed himself off. "Trust me, we've got enough tykes around here that stuff like this is practically clockwork."

Right then, Nico noticed the absurd number of clocks on the older dragon's person. His eyes lit up in realization once he got the joke and struggled to contain a mirthful snort.

Lindar puffed his chest in approval in turn. Just the response a pun of that caliber deserved. Once his eyes got a better look at the boy, though, they narrowed as they took in the boy's blocky features interspersed with trademark signs of Artisan heritage...and something else.

Faint realization reflected on his face.

"Never seen you around these parts," he commented in an even tone, "What's yer name?"

"My full name is Nicolas, but most folks just call me Nico."

Not as pretentious as he expected. The clockmaker tilted his goggles higher up. "Lindar." Just then he noticed the surprise on Delbin and stern tenseness on Nestor and rolled his eyes. "Hey there. Good to meet you, too. Care to show me around the neighborhood?"

"Nice to see you out and about as well, Lindar," Nestor responded in a droll tone, arms crossed. At least the clockmaker seemed to be his usual self. "I'd been under the assumption you would be home all day preoccupied with orders as well as your own projects."

Lindar waved a dismissive hand. "Orders crafted, artist's block on projects. This batch of requests came from some pretty hoity-toity clients so I figured having Nevin be the painter would make the perfect match. I just wanted to check and see how far he got since today's been so slow. Now if you gentleman will excuse me, there's an afternoon nap back home with my name on it."

Yet before he could get far—

"Thank you."

Lindar paused and glanced over his shoulder. At the look of flat confusion on the elder's face, Nico cleared his throat. "For the cookies."

No answer came at first. The muscles in Lindar's back tensed for a hot second yet his voice released in a deceptive coolness. "Kid, not to burst your bubble but Gavin gives out sh – _stuff _like that to every visitor. That's part of his deal with Delvin."

Alas, that excuse fell short at Nestor's knowing smirk.

"And how would you think he'd know who Delvin is?" When Lindar blushed and stalked off almost immediately afterward, muttering to himself, the carpenter shook his head in amusement. Out of his peripheral, he noticed Nico had a contemplative gaze trained on the retreating horologist. "Don't take his behavior to heart. Lindar isn't the type to show his emotions freely."

Based off of this lone encounter, Nico could imagine. However, as he and Nestor and Delbin continued on their way, he stole one last glimpse at Lindar's retreating form. The young Eco-Artisan noticed the same 'something else' Lindar had.

_He's like me._

* * *

**For reference pictures of my OCs:**

**Artisans - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs**

**Peace Keepers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs**

**Magic Crafters - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs**

**Beast Makers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs**

**Dream Weavers - ****~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs**

**Ecologists - ****~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs**


End file.
